Microsoft planning a 7-inch Surface tablet


Microsoft is planning to launch a 7-inch version of its Microsoft Surface tablet, according to a recent report.


The Wall Street Journal claims that a whole new line-up of Surface tablets is in the process of being put together, and among them is a 7-inch variant to take on the likes of the iPad mini and the Google Nexus 7.


Indeed, the report claims that Microsoft had no plans to launch a smaller form factor tablet last year. It has apparently changed its plans in light of the enormous success of the aforementioned miniature tablets.


These plans already appear to be in an advanced stage, however, as the report claims that the 7-inch Surface will go into mass production later this year.


Windows 8 for 7-inch tablets

Just last month it was noted that Microsoft had tweaked its hardware specifications for Windows 8 tablets to support a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768, which would certainly sit snugly on a 7-inch display.


Back in February we reported on the comments of Microsoft's CFO, Peter Klein, who claimed that the company was "really set up" for a 7-inch tablet. He revealed that Microsoft is in a position to "deliver a versatile set of experiences across form factors, whether they’re four-inch, five-inch, seven-inch, 10-inch or 13-inch,” and that "the notion of flexibility and the scalability of the operating system is actually intrinsic to our vision and our strategy."


Would you be interested in a 7-inch Windows 8 tablet, or is that simply too small for the OS? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.